Category: Building a Fan Base

Know Your Niche To Get The Right Gigs

By NationWide Source - Jan 13, 2014 Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

We know that, as an artists, you are always trying to stand out and avoid being generalized. However, defining yourself and looking at how others perceive you—in other words, knowing your niche—is in your best interest.

Look Within

What is your preferred style of music? Where do you think your sound fits in? Who would you compare yourself to? What is the best sound for your performances or live recordings?

If you’re a solo artist, this is a journey you need to take on your own. If you’re a member of a band (and want to keep things that way), uncovering your niche has got to be a group effort.

Listen to Others

Once you have an outline of who you think you are, ask those you trust for their opinion. Even if you don’t see it from the get-go, as a performer you need to be open to the ways in which others perceive you. What do others think of your music? Which musicians do others most readily identify your music as being similar to? How accurate is your own view of your musical style compared to theirs? If there is a discrepancy, what changes do you need to make?

Put it to Action

Knowing your niche is a powerful tool that can help you book gigs, market your band, and reach more fans. For marketing and building a fan base, you know now how to accurately describe yourself to record stores, record labels, and potential fans. Use this knowledge to your advantage.

In terms of gigs, evaluate which venues and audiences are best suited to your niche. Does it make sense for a club DJ to play venues better suited to an acoustic duo? Or a barbershop quartet to be drowned out at a battle of the bands? Maybe you have been playing half-empty venues when you would do better to focus on more-intimate, smaller settings. Ask yourself these questions: Where is your music most readily felt? Where is your target audience? What venues allow you to connect with your audience and appropriately showcase your talent?

If you’re rehearsing or booking gigs or wanting to record and haven’t yet figured out your niche, stop what you’re doing (we mean it) and figure this out. It will be worth it in the long run. If you’ve already done this, great job! We’d love to hear what you discovered.

Have you discovered your niche yet? Has identifying your niche helped or hindered your music career?

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Thriving Outside the Big City as a Musician

By NationWide Source - Jan 13, 2014 Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Forget the myths. You don’t need to live in New York or L.A. to become famous. It didn’t work that way for R.E.M., playing their way through the small city of Athens, Georgia. There are some great ways to get more fans without having to book a world tour.

Get out there and gig

It’s the old-fashioned way, and it’s the best. No matter the how big your online presence gets, fans will never know what you’re all about until they can see sweat dripping off your face. Just remember two rules: Start small, and start locally. That will lead you to…

Become a fixture in your home town

There is something to be said about the fact that the Beatles played sold-out performances at Liverpool clubs before anyone in America knew their name. They were Liverpool’s band first. Don’t try to conquer to world right out of the starting gate.

This “social media” business

You may have noticed this thing called social media that all the kids are raving about?

Of course you know the value of social media. But what you may not realize is that there’s an unspoken code of behavior on various platforms. Fans will expect you to adhere to it. For example:

Facebook should be a professional platform for news and announcements. Forget the pictures of the cat sitting in the guitar case.
Twitter is the place for fun stuff and mini-updates. Keep it band-related. No politics.
Instagram is where you get to play around a bit. Feel free to post pics from last night’s after-gig party. Put a more human face on your image.
Tumblr is your personal soap box. Got an opinion? Post it here. Engage your fans and solicit their comments. Don’t forget to respond to them, for…

Decrease the distance between you and your fan base as much as possible

Yes, that’s a pretty long heading, but read it carefully. Read it again. Building a fan base is like growing a plant. It doesn’t happen overnight. It happens in stages and only through careful cultivation and diligence. If you want to get more fans, you must remember that this is the age of interconnection. Encourage fans to share things you post. Engage them in dialogue. Hold contests. Don’t be afraid to send out a personal email every once in a while to thank a fan for his or her contribution or loyalty.

Are you a small town musician? What steps have you taken to help your band thrive?

4 Cost-Free Ways to Promote Your Music

By NationWide Source - Jan 10, 2014 Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

The magical world of independent musicians—where we play to feed our passion and where making money may be just a dream for the distant future—requires many of us to wear multiple hats, from scheduling our own gigs to finding the best (and budget-friendly) marketing strategies.

With that in mind, here are a few easy and free marketing techniques that you should be utilizing:

Google Alerts

Do you know that you can get free alerts from Google when new internet conversations occur about your band’s music? Google scours the interwebs to find the keyword and sends you an e-mail. If you have a unique band name, like “Punky and the Obese Flies,” sifting through the results should be quick and easy. If the name of your band is “The Frogs,” then you may have to weed through links about licking psychoactive frogs. Stay focused! It’s marketing time! Follow these free trails back to the discussion about your band and interact with these fans.

Follow up with your fans

Get in on the conversation. Use social media—Facebook and Twitter, for starters. The way most fan bases grow is through sincere interaction between musicians and the fans. Drop the “rock star” complex and talk with your fans. Thank them for supporting you, listening to your songs, and coming to your shows. However, if you don’t post regularly, your Facebook “likes” may forget why they ever like your music in the first place.

Videos

Another great (and free) social media platform is YouTube. Post videos of your band’s performances or covers of your favorite songs on YouTube, then link them up to your other social media profiles.

QR Codes

Have you heard of these? Anyone with a smart phone can scan the code (on your gig flier or business card or disc packaging) and be directed to a webpage of your choosing without typing in the address. You can link this barcode to your ReverbNation profile, your Facebook fanpage, or your band’s website, giving potential fans immediate and easy access to the unique musical creations of your band.

Now, go out and put one or all of these to good use… then get back to playing!

Have you tried any of the above methods to promote your music? How did it work out? Are there other methods you’ve tried that market your music better?

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